Oakland Athletics' Scott Sizemore (29) is mobbed by teammates after hitting a game-winning single during the tenth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Los Angeles Angels, Saturday, July 16, 2011, in Oakland, Calif.

OAKLAND, CA - JULY 16: Jered Weaver #36 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the six inning during an MLB baseball game at the O.co Coliseum July 16, 2011 in Oakland, California. The Angels won the game 4-2.

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

OAKLAND, CA - JULY 16: Jered Weaver #36 of the Los Angeles Angels...

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Eric Sogard #36 of the Oakland Athletics scores a run and celebrates with teammate Josh Willingham #16 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the fourth inning of game two of a double header at the O.co Coliseum July 16, 2011in Oakland, California.

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

Eric Sogard #36 of the Oakland Athletics scores a run and...

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Scott Sizemore #29, Jemile Weeks #19 and Ryan Sweeney #15, of the Oakland Athletics, celebrate after Sizemore hit an RBI double against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the tenth inning to win game two of a double header 4 to 3 in Oakland, California.

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

Scott Sizemore #29, Jemile Weeks #19 and Ryan Sweeney #15, of the...

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Cliff Pennington scores the winning run on a walk off an RBI double by Scott Sizemore #29, against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in the tenth inning of game two of a double header July 16, 2011 in Oakland, California. The Athletics won the game 4-3 in ten innings.

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

Cliff Pennington scores the winning run on a walk off an RBI double...

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David DeJesus of the Oakland Athletics lays down a sacrifice bunt and gets tagged out, by pitcher Rich Thompson of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in the tenth inning of game two of a double header July16, 2011 in Oakland, California. The Athletics won the game 4-3 in ten innings.

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

David DeJesus of the Oakland Athletics lays down a sacrifice bunt...

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Hisanori Takahashi of the Los Angeles Angels, pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the seventh inning of game two of a double header in Oakland, California. The Athletics won the game 4-3 in ten innings.

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

Hisanori Takahashi of the Los Angeles Angels, pitches against the...

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Manager Mike Scioscia, of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, takes the ball from pitcher Ervin Santana. The pitcher left the game against the Oakland Athletics in the seventh inning of game two of a double header in Oakland, California. The Athletics won the game 4-3 in ten innings.

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

Manager Mike Scioscia, of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, takes...

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Los Angeles Angels' Erick Aybar (2) steals second base as the Oakland Athletics second baseman, Jemile Weeks, misses the ball during the seventh inning of the second baseball game of a doubleheader, Saturday, July 16, 2011, in Oakland, Calif.

Photo: Ben Margot, AP

Los Angeles Angels' Erick Aybar (2) steals second base as the...

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Los Angeles Angels third baseman Alberto Callaspo (6) tags out Oakland Athletics' Ryan Sweeney (15) during the first inning of the second baseball game of a doubleheader, Saturday, July 16, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Sweeney was attempting to stretch a double into a triple.

Photo: Ben Margot, AP

Los Angeles Angels third baseman Alberto Callaspo (6) tags out...

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Mark Trumbo, of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, dives but can't catch a line drive off the bat of Ryan Sweeney, of the Oakland Athletics, in the first inning of game two of a double header in Oakland, California.

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

Mark Trumbo, of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, dives but can't...

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Los Angeles Angels' Erick Aybar advances to third base on a ground out by Torii Hunter, during the first inning of the first baseball game of a double header against the Oakland Athletics, Saturday, July 16, 2011, in Oakland, Calif.

-- The Coliseum crowd looked and felt like one from a Saturday afternoon in the late 1980s, when Oakland baseball defined the art. The sun was out, the A's had two runners on in the seventh inning, and there was a sweet buzz of anticipation as Jemile Weeks stepped to the plate against the American League's All-Star starter, Jered Weaver.

Because it's the 2011 A's, with a certain grim reality in place, it really didn't matter how the situation played out. As it happened, Weeks managed a single that cut the Angels' lead to 3-2. But this particular Saturday was more about the scene, and the fact that it was only the first game of a real, old-style doubleheader.

It felt just right.

You're never quite sure of the actual A's attendance on a given day or night. Chances are the announced figure is a joke, far from the 8,000 to 9,000 you witnessed with your own eyes. This was just a great crowd, period, by the A's standards (a very legitimate 27,379). It spoke well for the future of the doubleheader, no matter what nonsense you hear from the commissioner's office.

The fact is that baseball will be expanding its playoff structure to include two more wild-card teams, and the time frame of the 162-game season has to be shortened to get things done before the onset of November. If teams played just one doubleheader a month - with the trade-off of some Monday off days - it would help tighten things up.

And yet, we recently heard Selig tell reporters that "fans today don't want doubleheaders." What a pathetic, self-serving remark. He's only speaking for the owners, who can't see anything clearly beyond the dollar sign. Selig went on to say that the modern-day version of the doubleheader - at separate times of the day, with separate admission prices - is "more fan-friendly." Well, now he's just plain lying. Somebody get this guy off the podium before we all become ill.

The fact is that fans don't at all mind a one-price doubleheader, especially little kids who love the idea of watching their favorite player come to bat eight times. The players can live with it, on occasion, as long as you don't split their work day into day-and-night shifts. Only the owners recoil at the notion, and in a perfect world, they wouldn't have a say on anything that matters. Not after their long history of full-fledged buffoonery.

What a day for the Fox crew to give the A's national exposure. Viewers probably saw the lively, engaged crowd and wondered what all the fuss is about. As we know too well, things are not OK around here, as expressed in the large white banners placed alongside each other in the right-field bleachers:

Wow, Billy Beane takes a hit as well as co-owners John Fisher and Lew Wolff? Tough crowd. "That's pretty personal," remarked a security guard who works both Bay Area ballparks. "The Giants would never allow those banners."

Then again, nobody's all that cranky at AT&T Park, where they might as well be serving free caviar in the aisles.

Scoreboards aside, the best part of the A's long day had to be Rich Harden's outing in Game 2. Not that anyone's suggesting any long-term investments, but over the course of three starts, he's been a different pitcher than the one who last wore the Oakland uniform.

If anything, he was getting stronger once he surpassed the 100-pitch mark, striking out the side in his final inning (the seventh) and finishing it off with a 95-mph fastball that blew away rookie Mike Trout.

Was it a perfect day for the A's? Hardly. But on a day with an entirely different feel, the afternoon worked on a number of levels. I spent most of the day in the stands, where a fan turned to me and said, with a satisfied smile, "Why don't they play tripleheaders?"

Saturday crowds

The A's average reported home attendance is 19,141, which is second-lowest in the majors behind the Marlins. Here's a look at their Saturday home crowds: